Student Attendance Policies & Procedures

Every Day Counts!

Regular attendance is essential for your child's academic success. If your child will be absent, please notify the school as early as possible, preferably on or before the day of the absence.

Report an Absence

You may report your child's absence by:

• Text (text only): (760) 349-1989
• Phone: (760) 868-2500 ext. 44006
• Email: [email protected]

Please Include:

• Student's full name
• Date(s) of absence
• Reason for the absence

Important Reminder

Parents/guardians have five (5) school days to verify an absence due to illness or a medical appointment (a medical note may be required). Absences not verified within this timeframe will be marked unexcused.

Excused Absences

A student's absence may be excused for the following reasons:

• Personal illness
• Quarantine directed by a county or city health officer
• Medical, dental, optometry, or chiropractic appointments
• Funeral services for an immediate family member:
  • 1 day if the service is in California
  • 3 days if the service is outside California
• Jury duty (as provided by law)
• Illness or medical appointment of the student's child (if the student is the custodial parent)
• Approved personal reasons with advance written parent/guardian request and principal approval, including:
  • Court appearances
  • Funeral services
  • Religious holidays or ceremonies
  • Religious retreats (up to four hours per semester)
  • Employment conferences
  • Educational conferences offered by nonprofit organizations related to the legislative or judicial process
• Service as a member of a precinct election board
• Time with an immediate family member who is an active-duty member of the U.S. Armed Forces before, during leave from, or after deployment to a combat zone or combat support position
• Participation in religious exercises or moral/religious instruction (District policy applies):
  • Student must attend at least the minimum school day.
  • Limited to four days per school month.

Immediate family includes a parent, grandparent, spouse, child, sibling, in-laws, or any relative living in the student's household.

How Absences Are Verified

When a student returns to school, the absence must be verified by a parent/guardian, another adult responsible for the student, or the student if they are 18 years of age or older.

Verification may be completed by:

• A written note, fax, email, or voicemail from a parent/guardian
• A phone call or in-person conversation with school staff
• A home visit or another reasonable method confirming the absence
• A physician's note

School staff will document the student's name, parent/guardian, date(s) of absence, reason for the absence, and the employee who completed the verification.

Physician Verification

If a student has accumulated 10 illness-related absences during the school year that have been verified by a parent or guardian, the school may require future illness absences to be verified by a physician.

For confidential medical services, school staff may verify the appointment time with the medical office but will not ask about the purpose of the visit.